On the Defence
by Wicked R
Summary: Explanation of how two vampires end up with a human kid. Well, sort of human. Giles kidnaps the baby. Council’s orders.


Title: On the Defence  
Author: Wicked R  
This is just for my own and to the readers' enjoyment. Regular disclaimers apply.  
Please email for comments and criticism. Cynicism is allowed too.  
Thanks: to Dawn (not Summers) for being my beta and struggling through my English vocabulary. I also thank Ames, Cassidy Rees and everyone else from the Adrian Paul Estrogene Brigade for answering all my silly questions and for their encouragement.  
Universe: Series 3 AtS, after we see Darla pregnant, but the gang doesn't know about it yet. AU, I'm afraid, after all that happened later, but I've written in before we knew anything about Connor and it's quite strange how some things are similar here to what actually happened on the show.  
Rating: G  
Summary: Explanation of how two vampires end up with a human kid. Well, sort of human. Giles kidnaps the baby. Council's orders.  
Pairing: A/D.  
Enjoy!

It was 4.43 AM when Wes arrived home from one of the Watchers' never ending meetings. Even though he wasn't a watcher anymore, they still invited him. He was well aware of the fact that they only wanted to find out what Angel was up to, but he also got some books out of the deal. As he approached the hotel that night, he saw something dark laying in front of the door. Cordelia took Fred out last night and they were going to stay at her house, so it had nothing to do with them. He took his revolver out as he always had when something unusual was happening, as he always had since he'd joined the Watchers. He went closer to the door, carefully, paying attention to the surroundings and to any eventual noise. Approaching closer, his eyes got used to the darkness. Then came the realisation that the dark thing lying in front of the door was Angel. Wes froze. He had to analyse the strange situation a bit more before he did anything.Angel was half sitting, half laying with his back resting against the door. Wes called out "Angel," but there was no response. Wes couldn't see Angel's eyes because his head was bent down onto his chest, but Wes was becoming quite sure that Angel looked unconscious. If Angel was unconscious, there must've been a reason for that, and the reason wasn't likely to be anything other than sinister. Wes pulled the hammer of his revolver, expecting somebody to turn up any second. It wasn't the best way of defending against any demons, but it was the handiest one. He could always find another way after he slowed them down with a bullet.After taking another look around and seeing nothing suspicious, Wes turned his attention back to the blacked out vampire. Angel wasn't wearing any jacket or coat, and there was no sign of a sword or any other type of weapon anywhere around him or even in the larger proximity of him, as far as Wes could tell. He bent down to see about the dark patch of, supposedly, blood on Angel's shirt. If he could see the wound, he could possibly estimate a time of regeneration. Firstly, the shirt was completely soaking in blood, but that, of course, didn't mean anything. Wes opened the shirt up with one hand, while still holding his gun in the other. The wound was very obviously one caused by a sword, a deep cut reaching down from the ribs to the navel and it was still heavily bleeding. On the other hand, he just couldn't wait around for regeneration to happen. Whoever was hurting Angel could be close. Angel was heavy, and Wes would never be able to carry him without any help from the vampire or someone else, or at least some kind of lifting equipment. He went into the hotel, turned around, and put his gun away. He needed both his hands to grab hold of the unmoving Irish vampire and pull him completely inside the doors. The door swung shot, and now he could hope that he'd acted quickly enough and whoever was after Angel didn't know where he went or was. He just had to wait until Angel come to, and everything would be all right. By the way, why was Angel not waking up yet? Wes checked the wound again. It seemed unchanged. He decided to leave Angel where he was and get himself a drink. He poured 2 glasses, drank one of them in a oner and took the other glass with him when he went back to check on Angel. There was still no movement. Wes sat down by the body and started to drink the other glass too, but much more slowly. Angel's skin was definitely as white as the walls. It made a strange contrast with his dark hair, and such a sharp contrast Wes had never seen before on him. Wes lifted Angel's shirt up again and again, and as driven by some instinct, took his own coat off and pressed on the area sprinkling blood. The hall clock reminded him with a harsh resonance that a quarter of an hour had passed since the doors swung behind the both of them. It was just too long a time not to have anything happen. He knew that even if the vampire stayed unconscious, there should be a visible improvement of the wound. The longer he thought about it, the stranger it seemed. The time moved on again while he was considering the options. Wes was completely stunned and had absolutely no idea what to think or do. But he had to act, he understood that now. Although it felt very bizarre as he was doing it, he took the mandatory first aid box down from the wall of the hotel and made a more suitable bandage for keeping Angel's blood inside. He moved Angel to a more comfortable position, but there was not much else he could think of doing. Sooner or later, he would come to, Wes was convinced. He couldn't see it much differently than before. Something bugged him, though. He went to the computer and started searching in vampires' files for anything that would make the whole event more understandable.The day almost broke before Angel moved. It wasn't really a move; he turned his head slightly, looking for clues about where he was. Wes rushed to him, full of questions, concern growing in him minute by minute. He wanted to say something nasty at first to vent his anger on his friend. But the look in Angel's eyes stopped him. It was a scream for help, rather than a look. Through the haze of his world spinning around him and the mist caused by his sweat, Angel recognised Wes. In this sudden moment of him feeling a bit better he had to talk to Wes somehow. He didn't know when he would loose consciousness again, so time was precious. He saw the bafflement on the face of his friend, but he couldn't waste time with explanations. "Wes," the sound came out almost as whisper."I'm listening, Angel". The watcher understood the situation, at least enough to know that it wasn't the time for questions. There might be the wrong questions. He had to let the vampire have a lead on the conversation." Please, you…(oh, breathing and talking was not an easy thing to do simultaneously)…have to...(inhale once, talk when you exhale)…help her ..go to...the bar on Kendall Street…"Wes was impatient, but could do nothing but wait for the continuation.

Angel was still conscious, although his eyelids shut. "…Darla is fighting… has my baby.. in her womb…". The sentence ended in groans, and Angel was struggling to keep awake. The pain was so intense, but he had to reassure Wes that what he said wasn't just gibberish caused by fever.

"Angel, you must know, what you're talking about doesn't seem to hold any logic", Wes saw Angel struggling to keep talking. In the effort, he started to vomit. It tired him out again. Angel felt the end of his strength, his mind went blank, his body was numb. "Please", Wes heard through the bubbling of the precious fluid as Angel drifted away once again, leaving Wes in a hard situation.Of course, Angel must've been hallucinating, but the mere fact of seeing him like this put nails in his head. Only nothing Angel had said explained the lack of healing effects. One way or another, it would be best to go and find out what his friend was on about. He couldn't leave Angel alone there, in case his attackers came back. He wasn't able to defend himself. God, it will be hard to put him in the car.The convertible had no trouble taking an excessive speed and the nervous changing of gears as the streets of the sleeping city were still empty. It was a time when the parties were over, and the morning rush hadn't started yet.Wesley had parked the car and took his gun out again, hiding behind a few weely bins in front of a house. It was an easy job, he'd done it a hundred times before, and it was what he still was most good at, observing, watching, studying. When he was close enough to the arch of the entrance, he just stopped, aware of every sound or movement around him. Oh, he did that so good, it seemed a waste not to be a vampire.The surroundings were quiet, only the early morning cleaners' truck could be heard. The bar entrance was open. He searched the hall, unmoving, only using the capability of rotation of his eyeballs. Everything looked quiet now. Due to the morning mist, he could not see the whole area clearly. As he considered whether or not to go in, he noticed the mist slowly lifting. Only a couple of minutes, and he would be able to see the whole entrance and the hall area quite clearly.The first thing he noticed was a lot of dust. He wanted to investigate it further. His steps on the pavement echoed more than he would've liked."Wesley Wyndam-Price! Now isn't that a surprise!" Darla's voice made him startle. She was throwing a sword on the ground.

Wes stood there as a dead lamppost as he saw that, at around her waist height, the vampire's abdomen was…eeee…was…round!!

He came back from his fazed out moment when he heard the woman, "I sent Angelus home to you in a cab. I suppose he reached you, then?"

"Yes, but…I don't understand…anything, " concluded Wes."I know. Don't look at me like that, watcher I don't know all the answers, but I'll tell you everything I know after we make sure Angelus is all right. I don't think he could die, not ANYMORE, but you could never be sure of anything, as it turns out. Come on, sun's coming up," she chatted along nicely, as if they were the best friends. Of course, Darla always did that with victims before she sucked the life out of them. Concern showed on her face, and she is was shivering too, in her black mohair pullover, Wes noticed, unsure whether he should offer his coat to a woman in…her state, whatever it might be. IF it was true. What was she up to? She asked him to take her to the hotel and she seemed worried about Angel. If this was Angel's baby, he had to find out how this was possible, so he wearily agreed.She reached for the car heating system as soon as they put the seatbelts on. Wes attempted the same kind of aggressive drive as on his arrival, but as the streets got busier suddenly, the drive had transformed itself into a roller coaster ride which took up just about all his attention. He needed to get home with the two of them before daybreak. Tiredness showed on every bit of Darla, he could tell that as well. She shut her eyes and relaxed her muscles to take advantage of the time she spent in the passenger seat. Or did she just try to avoid questions? One way or another, how could have Wes asked her now?

Abruptly, she startled as they came in the proximity of the Emergency Hospital and Research Institute. "Does your special council doc still work in there? Mary, if I remember right. The one that specialises in slayer and demon anatomy?"

"Mariah. How do you know about that? And as far as I know, yes.""We need her," said Darla, lying back again, eyes shut. She must've been pretty damn sure he was not going to stake her. Well, it must be her lucky day, thought Wesley bitterly as chaotic traffic towards the hospital kept him too busy to be able to even formulate his questions, let alone stake anybody. The parking area was full, but Darla insisted.

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Mariah Casing was in and, as usual, overdue to go home."Dr. Casing? There is somebody looking for you at the receptionist desk!"

The thirty-something practitioner nodded as she shut her locker. She would take her stuff with her and leave after speaking with her visitor, whoever it was.

The girl at the receptionist desk indicated with a quick movement of a finger the direction her visitor stood, she was busy typing something up the computer while talking on the phone. Mariah turned round. Darla was pacing up and down in the waiting area. Mariah knew her, Darla had previously raided her apartment not so long ago and made her examine her. She filed the whole story and sent it to the watcher's council already. There was something even stranger going on if she had the nerve to show up at her hospital.Darla was straight to the point again, "Mariah…I came because of my Angelus. You have to come with us, see, I got a watcher with me, you know him, you won't be hurt. Come, he's been in trouble for a long time now." Darla seemed almost desperate, her hands lifting up to touch Mariah's hands, but stopped in mid air, realising the reaction she would get wouldn't be too positive. She felt an unsatisfied need to get another woman's protection, experience, and support. Being pregnant first made her feel sexier and more female than ever before. Now she was afraid, eight months pregnant, close to labour and all above that in a situation she could not understand.Mariah had seen panic before, and Darla was definitely showing signs of it, shaking, paling. Whatever it was bothering her, it was too much."We can have some privacy in the office, Darla ", Mariah looked questioningly at Wesley.

He just lifted his shoulders, "I'll watch your back," assured her Wesley when they entered the office.

"It is a long story really, but Angelus partially lost his immortality. He still eats blood and gets harmed by sunlight. But he also slowly became mortal in every other respect during the last eight month. He does not heal, and I'm not quite sure if he can die.. Angelus was hurt last night…It is serious. You have to treat Angelus.""Do you say his bodily functions equal ours?""Yes.""Can I see him?""He is in the Convertible outside," provided Wesley.Mariah, used to responding quickly to events in the emergency room headed to the car with a stretcher. If Angel's body was reacting as a mortal, there was no point in wasting time.

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Wes waited at the intensive care unit. "He is in shock due to blood loss, Wes," filled him in after an hour of waiting Mariah, "hematuric also. We think the blade must've ruptured the spleen and the stomach. We are pumping blood in him at the moment. Strange as it is, but his blood seems to conform to one of the major human blood groups. Wes, do you think we should operate? I mean, if he WAS like us we would take the spleen out and sew up the stomach, but…the blood test shows no alterations from what you should expect from any of us.""I'm just as much guessing as you are. Darla should know.""I talked to her. She doesn't. We have to be quick here Wes if it IS about saving lives.""Go ahead, Mariah. Do what you can."

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Darla woke up as Wes opened her door. It was good to wake up and forget about all those dreams."Angelus?" was her first thought."You tell me. I am just an ex watcher, remember?""Well, for first, the nurse told me they've monitored, and it is a she. Shauna. Good Celtic name, don't you think? Angelus will like it. We were wondering if she was gonna be a mortal or a vampire.""Hmmm…so you say this has nothing to do with his shanshu but the baby?"

"Shanshu? What is that?"

"Not than."

"You not gonna tell me what it is?"

"Why would I?"

"Because I will tell you all I know."

"Hmm. Maybe. After."

"Do you know Achilles had descendants?""Achilles. Meaning Achilles from the mythology?""I will tell you everything now in order, be patient. Achilles's mother Thetis, who was an vampire…""You want to make believe that they existed?""That is before my time, but how do you think Greek gods came about?All the children's tales, all the legends describing the adventures of superhuman beings present in many religions and folklore-could they all be reality? "Do you want to say that the Greek mythology is factual and describes lives of vampires?""Not exactly. I really do not care which parts of the Greek Mythology are accurate and which are not. I presume most of it is utter rubbish and fantasy, just as much as I have nothing to do with Joan D'Arc " said Darla, gesticulating, "is this really important?" Sigh. "Angelus?" came the unsure question."I don't know. According to Mariah he responds to everything like a human would. They operate on him just now. We will not know anything for a while. Tell me about the Mythology. If it doesn't help me to connect it with anything useful I have read in the chronicles, at least time flies better this way."The woman didn't respond for a while. Wes observed her lips as she pressed them together, licked them with her tongue sometimes, as if deciding whether to talk or not."What do you think about me, Wes? I mean, what do you really think about me?""I thought vampires didn't care about what mortals think about them"."Do I seem like Darla to you?""Well, Darla wasn't as much concerned about what I thought of her.""This is hard. I feel myself changing every minute. What if this is irreversible? What if he is mortal now forever? What if I'm getting mortal too? Why am I so confused?""Forever? It is hard to be mortal FOREVER." The answer was the lucid sarcasm of a normal human being. The response wasn't the one he'd expected. No customary hot headed, do-something-about-it Darla. Was she crying? Wes started to feel guilty about being hard on her. As if he knew anything about being four hundred years old and not the woman. Vampires broke down about the most ridiculous things, "easy" to be tackled by mortals. And she cried. She must've cried centuries worth, all that emotion making her even more tired and making her seem even more vulnerable. Was she playing him? Angel could've been used to this, theoretically, but Wes wasn't. He thought, talking will maybe end this wail. Besides, he could not think of anything better to do, "umm. I always expected that such a long life would teach you these things."

However, she seemed to be listening and raised her head, "I read your files. I was often described by the Watchers as the woman most successful at getting Angelus into trouble…but I do love him."

"In your own way," added Wes. "But I believe you Darla, you proved that before.""Thanks, Wes," softened the woman again. "Achilles was one of the vampires from the Mythology. He learned the secret of becoming mortal and vice-versa from his mother. You see, you don't have to STAY mortal if you want a child, just as long as you conceive. When I heard about all this, I thought it was a good idea to bind Angelus to me with a child. Paris stabbed Achilles, but he did not stake him. He would be found either on the Islands of the Blest or on the White Isle, together with Iphigenia. Ok," she stopped with another sigh and a smile curved up her mouth, "you have to see it is not my type of thing to act, no, to be, to feel so …how can I put it? Unsafe…" Wes decided not to interfere anymore and so impose on Darla to go on with the story. However gibberish it sounded."…the problem is, that Achilles did not really change much in the last thousands of years. Odysseus said that Achilles would not want to be a lord over the dead that have perished anymore, but he was wrong. I was the one who asked Achilles to make him mortal.""How can he do that?!?" Wes had to ask, breaking his promise to himself about not interrupting.  
  
"As I heard, Zeus had the power initially, working both ways and he taught Achilles too. He took me to a place very similar to Stonehenge.""I always knew the Greek-Roman temple theory about the origins of Stonehenge was right!", exclaimed Wesley with childish excitement."It was a suicide mission, I admit it, what was I thinking? How could I trust the man who killed Hector and Agamemnon? Just because a certain Odysseus said he had changed? However, it was my last resource I suppose, to get Angelus back. Hah! What an Einstein!" Darla was staring ahead for a while.

Wes used the time to process the information. Nothing was ordinary about vampires. So many questions, hardly any answers. "The origins of the vampires, what about that?" He soon realised he was talking out loud.

Darla shook her head. "I don't know much more. Then I asked Achilles to do it back. He pulled out his sword as a response." This time, when Darla stopped, it was final. She told Wesley everything she could."But you are still a vampire, right?""Yes, he only changed me for a short time which should've been enough for me to conceive. After I had Angelus' sperm in me, I went there and I waited for the moment where they met my egg. After that I asked him to change me back. But he didn't. or not entirely. Or I don't know. And I don't know how Angelus got human either.""But why did Angel become mortal now and not then?""I only know that Achilles betrayed me. You see, I gave him Angelus' life essence, some of his blood so Achilles can make his sperm viable.""Life essence. What?""Me, as his Sire, had his life essence. Or well, I had Liam's life essence or whatever. You should know more than that, you're a watcher. Not that we talk about it much ourselves amongst vampires. I didn't even know there was a use for these life essences at all before I met Achilles."Two months laterWes parked his motorcycle in front of the hotel. Wes dig up everything to make sure Angel and his new family were safe, even found out Achilles' current name.

Fortunately as it seemed, Achilles didn't have connections at the Watchers as it was unable to locate his victims. Angel was neither human, neither vampire. Five weeks old Shauna was a beautiful baby with powerful lungs and a huge appetite for… milk. Angel was still convalescing after the series of operations he had, and Darla wasn't too much around the baby, as she was afraid she would find her too appetising. She still wanted to keep her though, for Angelus. Feeding Darla was difficult, they had to steal from hospital supplies so she doesn't go out and binge on humans. It was not a situation they could keep up for very long. Who he wasn't especially expecting to meet down the hall was Willow. The witch knew Wes's facial expressions and hold her hands up in defence, head slightly bent down, before the watcher could utter a word, "explanations, explanations, why does everyone want explanations from me?" However, she went on explaining: "I just told Angel to meet me at Callanish. On the Isle of Lewis. On the Hebride.."

"I know where Callanish is I'm British, remember?!" Wes sounded annoyed. The girls from Sunnydale still took him for an idiot. He expected other kinds of explanations.Willow stopped him with a subtle movement of her wrist, as medieval kings would. "You will know everything in time. I will help. Now let me arrange night time plane tickets for Angel and Darla," and she vanished through the door.The road was snowed in and the police blocked the gates leading up to the heart of the Highlands. Angel knew the long not used roads too and so they had no problems reaching Ullapool. The conversation in the car was about Willow. Shauna was left with Cordelia, with Fred she would care for her alternatively. Darla was unsure of Willow. Angel on the other hand, with a sure feeling, trusted her.They were soon to find out if Willow was gonna keep her promise this time as the Ullapool-Saundebhaig ferry wasn't running in wintertime and Willow came for them right down to Loch Broom to take them across to the Isles.Drizzling snow and in your face blowy wind ruled the island, as appropriate to the time of the year. It seemed inexplicable in this into the bones coldness that someone could love Scotland, when all the beautiful landscape was hidden by mist. Even if it cleared up sometimes, it was impossible to lift up the head to see it. The physical pain of wet cold in the face was too much to endure.They did the last few miles to the standing stones of Callanish by foot. Even Willow's rented Landrover was unable to cope with the mud and the winter springs. The rhythm of the march wasn't too fast. Angel had still tired easily on long walks and his wounds were sore if they were stretched. Darla's mood was the same as always in the last two month, characterised by concern over Angel. She let Angel lean on her with one of his arms, while with the other he was holding his abdomen to reduce too much painful movement. The journey seemed like a struggle. Willow lead the way, enclosed in herself.What was appearing at a distance like a castle, turned out to be a gathering huge pillars of stone. Some vertical, others transverse on the tops of the previously mentioned vertical stones in a circular area as rudely representing an original temple. It stood on a rise and it was visible from a wide area around, even in the unfavourable circumstances. A ring of large stones of about 12 metres in diameter enclosed a huge obelisk at its centre. Also in the middle of the ring were the remains of a cavity. Running north from the stone circle there were two parallel lines of 19 stones forming an avenue about 80 metres long.They entered the site from the north and felt a bizarre and strong impulse to walk up the avenue to the circle. When they reached inside, the witch took control giving instructions. She went straight to a particular stone holding some water and sat on it, while the two others were directed in the middle.Darla couldn't hold her curiosity anymore: "how do you know where we should stand?""Have you heard of the Windmill people?"The response came from Angel: "they were supposed to be the first inhabitants of this land from the age of Neolithic and they are attributed the building of these stone circles.""Good history knowledge," laughed Willow. Wetting her lips with her tongue, she took a deep breath and turned serious: "now, you have to understand, you must've been in a circus before, deep concentration requires quietness. What I'm gonna do is difficult."Darla crossed her arm and shook her head and disbelief: "do you wanna say he is the laboratory rat here?"Darla, please," took Angel on his never ending job of calming the woman down. Angel was also on a high emotional ride of insecurity and was easily hurt. The high tone of his own voice made his scars move and the pain annoyed him even more. He swallowed and sat down on of the wet stones praying not to catch a cold on top of all.Willow expressed her disregard of the childish fight of words with an all knowing sarcastic smile: "I AM the laboratory rat here. What can happen to you? Your role is absolutely nothing, other than stand there and wait. You will feel nothing for a while and I need your patience while I prepare the transaction. You will know when its over." I hope it'll be fine, added Willow to herself while trying to look as confident as a true god."How do you do it?" came the consistent question from Darla, "I don't want more mess-ups.""Don't worry, I was thought the technique recently in London." Willow shut her eyes and started her meditation routine. What followed, looked like a ritual first, but both vampires recognised it as a kei-raku-cho-sei do-in. You need some control over all that. They supposed it helped to achieve meditation state. She folded her knees under herself, with the right big toe crossed over the left. She rose her arms slowly over her head with fingers interlocking and gradually lowered her body and arms backwards as far as she actually touched the wet ground. The witch was hiddenly, but incredibly flexible. She maintained the position for the time of taking a few deep breath, then moved slowly, as if in continuation, into the lotus position. She crossed her arms and pressed each knee down with opposite hand, slowly bending forwards towards the ground until she touched it with her forehead. She stayed like this for what was felt a long-long time, even for an vampire. So far, so good, but the rest went on in Willow's mind. Inside, she monitored and eventually ignored the rise and fall of thoughts, memories, emotions and physical sensations. Initially she made no effort to direct where her thoughts went or interfered with their progress. Moving on from this mindful state, she stopped all thoughts and sensations before they could begin. She focused on the ming-men or life gate and with a bluster, she put the life force hanging over the ring where it belonged. They could've channelled the life force through any given ancient ring. But Callanish was secluded enough for no one to bother them during the interchange. The immediate effect she felt was extreme tiredness coming from the mental effort. It was all done well.As foretold, Angel felt instantly that their wounds were heeling. They were glad, Angel wanting to embrace Willow for her help."No. Don't," Willow was now pushing him away, not with a happy face, "there is something you need to know. Giles took your baby while we were here. She is the next slayer and we need to teach her. She will be the most powerful of all." She wasn't sure Angel was in his right mind to save her from Darla's rage of loosing the knot with her Angelus again.THE END 


End file.
